NZ Government must force dairy farmers to comply with regulations to maintain waterways...

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The New Zealand Minister of Agriculture has lashed out at the dirty dairy farm practices of some farmers in the country. Last november NZ was lambasted by the British Guardian  newspaper as having a 'green image' that wasn't warranted - rather unfairly I wrote at the time.

Minister John Carter discussed an audit report that showed totally unacceptable levels of effluent management.in the industry here. The audit showed an increasing rate of dairy farmers failing to properly treat the toxic runoff from their land, which in turn poisons waterways and streams.

In the Guardian article the Manawatu River was named, rightly or wrongly, as one of the most polluted  rivers in the Western world.

The Dairying and Clean Streams Accord report showed that while farmers are doing reasonably well at keeping cows out of rivers and bridging their their waterways, the treatment of effluent had gone downhill.

The Government is talking the talk, but is it prepared to walk the walk and take action to prosecute those farmers who are not looking after waterways that belong to us all.

The Dairying and Clean Streams Act was signed in 2003 under a Labour-led government, between Fonterra, the ministers of Agriculture and the Environment and regional councils, and aims to minimise the negative impact of dairying on our waterways. It sets a target to keep dairy cattle out of waterways and manages the use of fertilisers and other nutrients.

The government needs to more than just issue infringement notices,  it needs to fine the culprits thousands of dollars  to hurt them in the pocket and force them  show some consideration and responsibility to the industry and our waterways.

Minister John Carter needs to stop the rhetoric and force some action, even if it means losing a few rural votes for the National Party at the next elections, because this government shows all the hallmarks of being a one term government.

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Dairy factory farming proposal in New Zealand condemned by the Greens...

New Zealand is on the brink of introducing factory farming of dairy cows, the NZ Green Party said today: The party condemns the proposal.

Consent applications were recently lodged with Environment Canterbury for factory-style dairy farms in the Mackenzie Basin.

Three companies plan to establish 16 new farms with nearly 18,000 cows in the area. According to the applications, all 18,000 cows will be housed in 'cubicle stables' 24 hours a day for eight months of the year, and 12 hours a day for the remaining four months.

"This is factory farming, pure and simple," Green Party Co-leader Russel Norman said.

"Proposals to keep cows in cubicles that they don't leave for eight months of the year are a radical departure from our tradition of farming stock outside and on pasture, and could do immense harm to our clean, green international brand and image.

"Once word gets out to overseas consumers that New Zealand butter comes from factory farms, there goes our competitive advantage.

"Fonterra counters 'food-miles' arguments from our European competitors by saying that our milk products are more environmentally friendly than factory-farmed milk. This proposal flies in the face of that strategy.

"It's also a chilling prospect from an animal welfare perspective."

However the proposals are still being considered and are not necessarily a faite accompli.

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